Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport

Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Alfredo Vásquez Cobo
IATA: LET – ICAO: SKLT LET Location of airport in Colombia
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Aerocivil
Serves		Leticia, Colombia
Elevation AMSL		277 ft / 84 m
Coordinates		04°11′36″S 069°56′35″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
03/21	1,880	6,168	Asphalt
Source:

Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Alfredo Vásquez Cobo) (IATA: LET, ICAO: SKLT) is an airport serving Leticia, the capital of the Amazonas department of Colombia.

It is the largest airport in the south of the country, located in the Colombian department of Amazonas and in the most southern part of this country. Vásquez Cobo is the gateway for the Colombian jungle region.

History

Until 1948Bogota and Leticia and other cities that were situated on the banks of large rivers but lacked airports, were linked by using amphibious aircrafts. At that time came the PBY Catalina, which were quite slow and had little capacity. Around the year 1950 the Ministry of War through the Civil Aviation Department initiated operatives for an attempt to build an airfield in this town, in order to receive wheeled aircrafts.

The possibility of joining by air the port of Leticia, was one of General Rojas' obsessions, since his tenure in the direction of the Civil Aeronautics years before, discussing the situation of helplessness that this population suffered in 1932 when it was overrun by Peruvian civil personnel. The trip up the Amazon River was too long. The Colombian Air Force in Panama acquired for a good price an asphalt plant for being leftover material of war Air Force United States. The plant was fly to Leticia and should be moved along the Atlantic coast, along the coast of Brazil to enter the mouth of the Amazon. In the ship "The Cabimas" of the Navy, and also had 200 thousand gallons of liquid asphalt RC2 type made the long trip. The Navy ordered that the asphalt be transferred to the ARC Cúcuta ship of 10,000 tons displacement, which was in the port of Leticia.

Before the boat reached the mouth of the Amazon River on the Brazilian coast, it had to face a storm that brought serious damage so it could not continue. As a result, it was necessary to get rid of the asphalt, which ended on the bottom of the sea, and far from its destination. The asphalt if he reached his destination and was then transferred to a deposit made on land in the vicinity of the land that would be the airport. So, it started building a rudimentary track of 900 meters long which consisted of a level, compacted for the operation of small aircraft that arrived at Leticia from Brazil and the country's interior. In 1952 the original track was extended to 1,300 meters, which allowed the operation-constrained DC-3 aircraft and the like.

In the year 1955 the Colombian Aerodrome Company assumed the construction of a new airport on the banks of the Amazon River, for which they advanced surveying, designing and building the track and began construction with the desiccation of the existing dam site , and tearing down the forest using tools imported directly from New York. Since there was no dock, wooden rafts were used to download the machinery of the crane ship carrying them to be transferred to land.

During the construction of new airport facilities a true air bridge was established to mobilize the technical staff and workers, machinery, spare parts, fuel and others. Under contract with the FAC, the spacious Hercules carried many of the elements required for the work, while the Navy tug took the fuel and asphalt from Puerto Asis.

Among the works up to the new airport was built a new platform and taxiway streets. The platform was designed for a capacity of five aircraft type 727. Likewise, the Civil Aeronautics undertook the construction of the access road to the airport, which is a wonderful avenue that ends in the streets of the city.

The terminal building of architectural style underwent reform to make it more functional and streamline the process of arriving and departing passengers. It extended the waiting room, the airline office, restaurant and bathrooms. Also replaced the old window frames to give a new appearance to the building.

Aeronautical Leticia International Airport was equipped with a VOR station, a non-directional radio beacon LW and aeronautical communications equipment, and distance measuring DME, VASI equipment indicating the angle of approach to the runway, a power plant and a runway lighting system for night operations.

The international airport construction Leticia mean a contribution of Central Government $ 87 million pesos for the whole of the works and was inaugurated by President Misael Pastrana in 1974 and was christened with the name "Alfredo Vasquez Cobo" in honor General of the Republic, who fought back and managed to maintain national sovereignty in the Amazon rain forest during the conflict with Peru.

Avianca soon began regular service with a Boeing 727, followed by services on aircraft Aerotal Caravelle. SAM later resumed services using Lockheed Electra aircraft on routes from Bogota and Cali with an international Leticia to Manaus.

Currently the market leader in the Amazon is AeroRepública Embraer 190 with modern equipment and regular service day. Satena also a presence in Leticia. Airport Leticia Vasquez Cobo ranked No. 24 among major airports in the country and in 2008 moved a total of 93 000 passengers. Aires is the new airline to operate regular Leticia on Boeing 737-700 and it is hoped that this new range of chairs at affordable prices is an increase in domestic and foreign tourists. The potential of ecotourism in the region is booming and expected continued growth for the benefit of the capital of the Department.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
LAN Colombia	Bogotá
AviaSelva	Seasonal: Iquitos, Pucallpa
Copa Airlines Colombia	Bogotá
Satena	Araracuara, Bogotá, La Chorrera, La Pedrera, Tarapacá

Accidents

• On November 18, 2006, an AeroSucre Boeing 727 crashed during landing due to poor weather and fog against a television antenna with 40 meters of height. The three members of crew, as well as the three passengers, died in the accident.

External links

• Current weather for SKLT at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for LET at Aviation Safety Network